A Topeka woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Tiara Jade Newman, 22, Topeka, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. In her plea, she admitted that on March 21, 2015, she and her husband, co-defendant Reginald Newman, 29, Topeka, Kan., took a 17-year-old girl from Topeka to Junction City, Kan., for the purpose of prostitution.
The Newmans rented two rooms at a Value Place motel in Junction City. The rooms — one room for performing commercial sex acts and the other where the three slept – were rented March 21 to March 25.
On March 21, Tiara Newman and the girl met a solder from Fort Riley at the Value Place motel. The soldier paid $250 to have sex with both of them.
On March 26, Tiara Newman took the girl along on an “out call” to the Fairfield Inn in Manhattan, Kan. Newman told the customer that the girl was new and she was showing her the business. The customer noticed that the girl was nervous and gave her a tip.
Reginald Newman kept all the money from the commercial sex acts. He pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing April 1.
Tiara Newman’s sentencing is set for May 2. Newman faces a penalty of not less than 15 years and a fine up to $250,000. Grissom thanked the following agencies for their work on the investigation: The Topeka Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Riley County Police Department, the Junction City Police Department, the Kansas Department of Revenue, the Fort Riley Police Department, the Ottawa Police Department, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office, the Pottawatomie County Attorney, the Riley County Attorney and local human trafficking victim specialists.
